This Child Must Never Be Sent Back Home

Of course, Ms. Merritt did not give up watching.

After all, she really liked the female lead. An actress of this caliber was worth the ticket price just for her performance. Ms. Merritt was able to keep watching because she wanted to see the female lead's performance.

It's hard to imagine the future development of an actor who has achieved such success at such a young age.

In the realm of art films, it is common to use newcomers or inexperienced actors. On the one hand, this is due to budget constraints; many directors outside of Europe and America do not have enough funds to hire big stars and can only find cheaper actors. On the other hand, some directors have their own preferences. For example, some directors like to use high school students to play high school students or pregnant women to play mothers, so as to achieve the effect of the actor and the role becoming one.

Ms. Merritt naturally thought that the female lead might also be a newcomer who had not yet debuted. Perhaps she was originally the daughter of a shrine and grew up in such an environment, which would allow her to express the sense of alienation between a shrine maiden and ordinary people.

"From this perspective, the director does have some professionalism."

Ms. Merritt hates the kind of mindless use of big-name celebrities, regardless of the character's traits and image. Especially now, with so much political correctness in Europe and America, movies and TV series must have black people, women, and people with gender differences. Even the Little Mermaid has to be black.

Ms. Merritt believes this is a desecration of art!

However, due to political and racial factors, this situation is becoming increasingly common, especially in France. Locals do not like to have children, while refugees and immigrants are having children like crazy. In a few years, blacks and people of foreign religions will exceed 50 percent of the population. At that time, we may really have to raise the white flag and surrender.

Ms. Merritt still harbors some racial prejudices.

Ms. Merritt felt that Lu Ban, a director who chooses actors based on their character traits, was not bad, as he at least showed basic respect for film.

She continued looking ahead.

The following plot explains the reason for the journey, and at the same time, the male and female protagonists officially meet for the first time.

Whether it was Ms. Merritt's imagination or not, wherever the female lead appeared, the scene was unusually soft. In just a few short shots with little dialogue, her performance alone had left a deep impression on her.

The film moves to nighttime, where the male protagonist strolls alone in the courtyard. The cherry blossoms at night have a different charm, unlike the warm and gentle cherry blossoms during the day, they are more alluring and charming.

The male protagonist heard a strange sound, followed the sound, and came to a courtyard.

He saw that the witch was holding a bow and concentrating intently on shooting arrows.

Ding—

As the arrow struck the bullseye, Ms. Merritt felt her heart tremble for a moment.

The female protagonist at this time is also quite different from that during the day. If the female protagonist during the day is aloof, proud, and independent flower that can be admired from afar but not touched, then she at night is like a cherry blossom falling in the night, possessing a captivating charm.

That arrow didn't hit the target, but it pierced Ms. Merritt's heart.

She had seen many movies in which the women were either appendages of men, supporting characters under male chauvinism, or decorative figures set up to showcase the heroism of the male protagonists.

Or they simply replaced the original male lead with a woman, failing to showcase any feminine qualities and merely using a woman's name to write a male story—a script that's all bark and no bite.

This female protagonist, during the day she is like an elegant young woman who has received a good upbringing, with a touch of aloofness. At night, she shows her diligent and hardworking side. Such a woman, independent, ambitious, and charming, is the kind of character that Ms. Merritt likes.

"Not bad."

She took another sip of her martini, letting the chilled liquor soothe her throat and bring a touch of coolness to the damp early summer day.

The fleet sets sail, and what follows is a scene where the male protagonist showcases himself. He fishes at sea, is unconventional, and mingles with the sailors, creating a stark contrast with the female protagonist, Amber.

However, through the details, it can be seen that Amber herself also yearns for that free life. The reason she maintains her current aloof appearance is simply because she does not want to have too much interaction with the people around her and make herself waver.

"Classic character design, clichéd, but it's rare to perform well."

Ms. Merritt commented.

Nowadays, many filmmakers want to portray a character who grows and changes. Such characters are more layered and profound, and if portrayed well, they are more likely to be liked.

However, many directors have failed, either because the character was too unlikeable at the beginning and lacked the motivation for transformation, making it seem fake, or because they were limited by the actor's acting skills, resulting in little difference between the beginning and the end.

In Ms. Merritt's view, Amber is a classic princess-like character who yearns for freedom but bears responsibilities. Such characters usually develop feelings for the knights who escort them to their destination, and their feelings may change. Ultimately, they either break free from their fate and pursue freedom, or they uphold their responsibilities and part ways with the knights, but they will definitely undergo a transformation.

Whether such a classic character can be successfully portrayed depends not only on the plot but, more importantly, on the acting skills.

And without a doubt, the image that Amber has created is very successful.

"This is a real gem!"

Ms. Merritt couldn't help but sigh that such an actor, given time, would surely become a true superstar capable of handling all kinds of roles.

I wonder if she will attend this film festival. If she does, Ms. Merritt will surely persuade her to stay in Europe and be immersed in the arts, rather than getting lost in the fame-seeking and profit-driven world of film sets.

This child must not be allowed to return to China.

At this point, the movie is a quarter of the way through. Under the moonlight, the mercenary leader, Ayame, explains that this journey is quite dangerous. As the camera pulls back, the two ships gradually become smaller. The camera crosses the sea and keeps pulling back, eventually arriving at another fleet of ships.

On this fleet, strangely shaped Bandaged Man, their bodies wrapped in bandages, lead several warships, eyeing the protagonist's fleet menacingly.

Undoubtedly, in the upcoming plot, they will take the opportunity to attack the protagonist's fleet and attempt to kill the female protagonist.

"Is it still the same old adventure action movie formula?"

Ms. Merritt picked up her glass, ready to take another sip, only to find it was empty.

It was quite unusual; perhaps because the weather was too humid and hot, she actually finished the wine.

She paused the movie and got up to pour herself another glass, but after thinking about it, she decided to put a bottle of sparkling wine in an ice bucket and take it to the projection room.

During the break, Ms. Merritt noticed that her phone had received several more text messages, all from her colleagues who were also judges.

The text messages from these people were all very similar, with only one central theme.

Go watch "Spring No War"!